Brunswick Football Club

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Brunswick Football Club
Brunswick Football Club.png
Names
Full nameBrunswick-Broadmeadows Football Club
Nickname(s)Pottery Workers, Brickfielders, Magpies, Wicks, Wickers, the Combine
Club details
Founded1865;159 years ago (1865)
Dissolved1991;33 years ago (1991)
Colours  Black   White
Competition Victorian Football Association (1897–1991)
PremiershipsVFA (3)
Uniforms
Kit body blackstripes.png
Kit body sleeveless.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
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The Brunswick Football Club, nicknamed the Magies, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Contents

Brunswick played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1897 until 1991, when it withdrew midway early in the season and folded shortly after. In its final two seasons in the VFA, the club was known as Brunswick-Broadmeadows.

History

Brunswick Football Club was formed in 1865 and joined the VFA in the 1897 season.

The club was colloquially known in its early days as the Pottery Workers [1] or the Brickfielders, and its fans were known for sounding clayhole bells at matches; [2] [3] after changing their colours from light blue and red colors to black and white, they became informally, and then later formally, known as the Magpies. They struggled to be competitive in the league early on, finishing last in 1898, 1899 and 1902.

Brunswick FC side, 1909 premiers Brunswick fc 1909.jpg
Brunswick FC side, 1909 premiers

They won the first of their three 1st division premierships in 1909 which started a successful era for the club under former Essendon player Jack McKenzie. Up until 1915 they played in six finals series and four grand finals.

After consistently making the finals following the end of the war they won another premiership in 1925. In 1926, the club dropped out of the Association near the end of the season in protest against suspensions meted out to captain-coach Wally Raleigh and team-mate Hassett, but was re-admitted prior to the 1927 season under an entirely new committee. [4] [5] [6]

1938 team Brunswick fc 1938.jpg
1938 team

They struggled during the early 1930s, both financially and on the field, forcing them to sell their finest players to Victorian Football League (VFL) clubs, but they went on to be one of the strongest teams of the late 1930s, winning three consecutive minor premierships from 1936–1938 and reaching three consecutive Grand Finals from 1937–1939. Their third and last first division premiership came during this period, defeating Brighton Football Club in the 1938 Grand Final by 33 points in what was the first premiership of the throw-pass era.

For the remaining fifty years of its time in the Association, Brunswick was consistently a middle-of-the-pack team. After the Association was partitioned into two divisions, Brunswick spent similar periods of time in both divisions; it was a regular finalist while in Division 2, winning three Division 2 premierships (1975, 1980 and 1985) from seven grand finals; but it seldom played finals in Division 1 and did not feature in a top division Grand Final after 1939.

Brunswick was one of several inner suburban VFA clubs whose off-field viability deteriorated through the late 1970s and early 1980s, in large part due to demographic shifts in the local area towards a higher migrant population which was largely uninterested in Australian rules football, [7] and at different times the club was heavily in debt and appeared likely to fold. In October 1989, Brunswick entered into a merger with the Broadmeadows Football Club – which was a football club in an administrative capacity only, as it had a board of directors and enough local Broadmeadows support to have previously launched a bid to join the VFA, but it had no home ground nor a team active in any league – to form the Brunswick–Broadmeadows Football Club, which was still based in Brunswick. [8] However, factional infighting between Brunswick and Broadmeadows members of the club's unwieldy 14-man board of directors distracted from any efforts to clear the club's debt (prompting the VFA to intervene and sack the board in August 1990), [9] and the on-field position deteriorated dramatically after there was an exodus of 35 players in the 1990/91 offseason due to owing player payments; [10] on 6 May 1991, after three enormous losses to start the 1991 season, the club withdrew from the VFA, [11] and folded soon after.

Club Records

Highest Score46.31 (307) v Sunshine, Round 12, 1983, Brunswick Park
Lowest Score0.1 (1) v Williamstown, Round 10, 1897, Brunswick Park
0.1 (1) v Footscray, Round 10, 1899, Western Oval
Greatest Winning Margin275 points v Sunshine, Round 12, 1983, Brunswick Park
Greatest Losing Margin187 points v Port Melbourne, Round 13, 1981, North Port Oval
Lowest Winning Score3.3 (21) v North Melbourne 1.10 (16), Round 3, 1897, Brunswick Park
Highest Losing Score24.15 (159) v Frankston 24.21 (165), Round 14, 1979, Frankston Park

Premierships

1st 18/Seniors

2nd 18/Reserves

3rd 18/Under 19's

Seasons

Source: [12]

Premiers Grand Finalist Minor premiers Finals appearanceWooden spoon VFA/VFL leading goalkicker VFA/VFL best and fairest

Seniors

YearLeagueFinishWLDCoachCaptainBest and fairestLeading goalkickerGoalsRef
1897 VFA Tom O'Loughlin
1898 VFA Tom O'Loughlin
1899 VFA Tom O'Loughlin
1900 VFA R. Coburn
1901 VFA R. Coburn
1902 VFA R. Coburn
1903 VFA R. Coburn
1904 VFA W. Stevenson
1905 VFA R. Casey
1906 VFA W. Temple
1907 VFA Henry Chase
1908 VFA Henry Chase
1909 VFA Jack McKenzie Jack McKenzie Henry Chase39
1910 VFA Jack McKenzie Jack McKenzie
1911 VFA Jack McKenzie Jack McKenzie
1912 VFA Jack McKenzie Leo Leeds
1913 VFA Jack McKenzie Jack McKenzie
1914 VFA Jack McKenzie Henry Chase
1915 VFA Henry Chase
1916 VFA (No season)
1917 VFA (No season)
1918 VFA Henry Chase
1919 VFA Henry Chase
1920 VFA Leo Sullivan
1921 VFA Leo Sullivan
1922 VFA Charlie Fisher
1923 VFA Barney Herbert
1924 VFA Dick O'Connor
1925 VFA Wally Raleigh Wally Raleigh Leo McInerney 79
1926 VFA Wally Raleigh Wally Raleigh
1927 VFA Cyril Bright
1928 VFA Tom Hassett
1929 VFA Charlie Pannam Leo McInerney 84
1930 VFA Hedley Blackmore
1931 VFA Charlie Pannam
1932 VFA Hedley Blackmore;
Wal Warden
1933 VFA Wally Raleigh
1934 VFA Jim Jenkins Jim Jenkins [13]
1935 VFA Jim Jenkins Jim Jenkins [14]
1936 VFA Roy McKay Roy McKay
1937 VFA Roy McKay Roy McKay Geoff McInnes 85
1938 VFA Roy McKay Roy McKay J. Dowling
1939 VFA Roy McKay Roy McKay H. Jones;
R. Quinn
1940 VFA Roy McKay Roy McKay Col Crawford;
J. Dowling
1941 VFA Col Crawford Col Crawford [15]
1942 VFA (No season)
1943 VFA (No season)
1944 VFA (No season)
1945 VFA Elton Plummer Elton Plummer [16]
1946 VFA Ron Baggott Ron Baggott
1947 VFA Ron Baggott Ron Baggott R. Shaw
1948 VFA Ron Baggott Ron Baggott
1949 VFA Ivor McIvor Ivor McIvor Ivor McIvor [17]
1950 VFA Ivor McIvor Ivor McIvor
1951 VFA Bervin Woods Ray Priestley
1952 VFA Bervin Woods Frank Nielsen
1953 VFA Jim Cleary Frank Nielsen [18]
1954 VFA Jim Cleary Maurice Rolfs
1955 VFA Jim Cleary Maurice Rolfs
1956 VFA Jim Cleary Les Stanley
1957 VFA Jim Cleary Leslie Pollard
1958 VFA Jim Cleary Jack Edwards
1959 VFA Bob McFarlane
1960 VFA Jim Whiley
1961 VFA (D1) Ron Clegg
1962 VFA (D1) Jack Edwards
1963 VFA (D1) Wally Carter Jim Whiley [19]
1964 VFA (D1) Wally Carter Jim WhileyB. WicksAlan Cook65
1965 VFA (D1) Keith Burns Keith Burns
1966 VFA (D1) Keith Burns Keith Burns
1967 VFA (D1) Keith Burns Keith Burns
1968 VFA (D1) Keith Burns Keith Burns
1969 VFA (D1) Graham Leydin
1970 VFA (D2) Alan Cook
1971 VFA (D2) Daryl O'Brien
1972 VFA (D2) Daryl O'Brien Daryl O'Brien
1973 VFA (D2) Daryl O'Brien Daryl O'Brien Doug Baird 94 [20]
1974 VFA (D2) Jack Wrout
1975 VFA (D2) John Warden
1976 VFA (D1) John Warden
1977 VFA (D1) John Williams
1978 VFA (D1) Barry NolanBarry Nolan
1979 VFA (D1) George Stone
1980 VFA (D2) Barry Nolan
1981 VFA (D1) Barry Nolan
1982 VFA (D2) Barry Nolan
1983 VFA (D2) Barry Nolan
1984 VFA (D2) Malcolm Toy
1985 VFA (D2) Barry Nolan
1986 VFA (D1) David Whillas Tony West
1987 VFA (D1) Tony West
1988 VFA (D1) Tony West
1989 VFA David Callender
1990 VFA David Callender
1991 VFA N/A [lower-alpha 1] 030David Callender
  1. ↑ Brunswick's three games in 1991 were expunged from the record.

Notable players

VFL

Other

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References

  1. ↑ "Brunswick". Australian Football. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Football". Independent. Footscray, VIC. 29 August 1903. p. 3.
  3. ↑ Old Boy (1 September 1908). "Football – Association premiership". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. p. 9.
  4. ↑ "Brunswick players suspended". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 19 August 1926. p. 12.
  5. ↑ "Football sensation – club leaves Association". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 21 August 1926. p. 32.
  6. ↑ "Brunswick's position". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 18 January 1927. p. 7.
  7. ↑ Marc Fiddian (18 March 1980). "VFA on-side with soccer?". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 44.
  8. ↑ Amanda Buivids (3 October 1989). "'Wicks settle on merger option". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 59.
  9. ↑ Amanda Buivids (2 August 1990). "report". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 75.
  10. ↑ Damian Barrett (6 April 1991). "Grand final action replay". Herald-Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 67.
  11. ↑ Adrian Dunn (7 May 1991). "Death of VFA Magpies". Herald-Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. pp. 72, 69.
  12. ↑ Fiddian, Marc (2009). "Moulded from clay: A history of the Brunswick Football Club". Boyles Football Photos. Raccoon Tail Books. Retrieved 4 April 2015. Brunswick Captains
  13. ↑ "Association". The Argus . Melbourne. 13 April 1934. p. 14. Retrieved 22 March 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Jim Jenkins of Brunswick". The Argus . Melbourne. 25 April 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 22 March 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "Football C. Crawford to coach Brunswick". The Argus . Melbourne. 3 February 1941. p. 9. Retrieved 22 March 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "Plummer for Brunswick". The Argus. Melbourne. 8 February 1945. p. 11.
  17. ↑ "McIVOR BRUNSWICK BEST AND FAIREST". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library. 27 September 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  18. ↑ Marc Fiddian (2003), The Best of Football Trivia, Hastings, VIC: Galaxy Print and Design, p. 23
  19. ↑ "Wally Carter for Brunswick". The Age . 29 November 1962. p. 24. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Results in the VFA". The Sun News-Pictorial (First ed.). Melbourne, Victoria. 13 August 1973. p. 59.
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